10% of Canadians hold half the wealth, report shows

Nearly half the wealth in Canada sits in the hands of just 10 per cent of the people, a new report from the Broadbent Institute said Thursday.

Haves and Have Nots: Deep and Persistent Wealth Inequality in Canada uses data the Broadbent Institute purchased from Statistics Canada's survey of financial security, which was released last February.

Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute, said there has been a lot of discussion about income inequality but he said that's just one part of the overall picture of the discrepancies between being wealthy and poor in this country. How much wealth people have amassed in real estate, the stock market, savings accounts and pensions tells a startling tale, said Smith.

"Your average Canadian cares both about their monthly paycheque and how fast they are paying off their mortgage," he said. "I think the results are terribly surprising and will be surprising to most Canadians."

The results found the poorest 10 per cent of Canadians hold more debt than assets, and the poorest 50 per cent of Canadians account for just 5.5 per cent of all the wealth accumulated in Canada.

Conversely, the wealthiest 10 per cent of Canadians own 47.9 per cent of the wealth.

The wealth discrepancy is greatest in British Columbia, where the top 10 per cent own 56.2 per cent of the wealth and the bottom 50 per cent own just three per cent.

The Prairie region had the second-biggest discrepancy, with the wealthiest 10 per cent owning 49.4 per cent and the bottom 50 per cent owning 5.6 per cent.

Statistics Canada released most of the data last winter but the Broadbent Institute purchased additional information that allows it to report more details.